He hates veggies=(

[Anonymous]

My little one is 16 months. I'm so worried about him b/c he hates vegetables so much! I can't have him eat any kind of veggies. I'm SO worried that his body does not get any kind of nutrients at all. All he likes to eat are banana, apple sauce, yogurt and LOTS of milk! He will eat fruits occasionally.... shall I consult his pediatrician about it? he seems to be really healthy tho. He never get sick easily. wanna hear from mommies out there. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Haven't had to deal with this yet, but have you tried the stealth approach - sneaking veggies into foods, for example adding squash puree to mac n cheese etc. Also, whenever you have any question like this, you should absolutely call the pediatrician. That is what they are there for. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't worry at all. Keep up the fruits, and keep introducing veggies--keep them flavorful and seasoned, and then don't stress about it.

If you're really concerned, your ped might recommend a multivitamin. But it's totally normal to have kids reject veggies and then develop a taste for them later. Forcing it won't help, I'm sure!

[Anonymous]

Try Morning Star vegetarian products. My son loves the corndogs, chicken nuggets and breakfast sausages. I also agree w/ pureeing vegetables and sneaking them into food. I've snuck cauliflower in mac & cheese and quesidillas.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I would avoid highly processed foods like the Morning Star products. Just try keeping the veggies, but don't make it a high-pressure thing. Eventually he will find something he likes. He's already eating fruit, and thank goodness the season of abundant fresh organic fruit is just around the corner, so you're not in such terrible shape.

[Anonymous]

Also, try offering him things he can dip and different sauces--yogurt, hummus, ranch dressing, ketchup, etc.

[Anonymous]

Jerry Seinfeld's wife just published a great cookbook for kids - the whole idea is to sneak veggies into unlikely foods. It's working for us - sorry I can't remember the book's title offhand, but you should be able to find it anywhere.

I've also resorted to letting my children dip raw and steamed veggies into Ranch dressing. Amazing what they'll eat with the dressing. Your child is a little young for this, and I know it's not ideal (fattening, etc.) but it does work. We do it once a week and make a dip party - cut up all different colored veggies, arrange them into fun shapes, and give each child about a teaspoon of dip.

[Meconbear]

Some fruits have the same nutrients as veggies. My DS hates carrots, but will eat papaya, which has tons of betacarotene, and sweet potatoes. Maybe a variety of fruits? Kiwi, papaya, mangoes, etc. I also agree with PP that you need to be consistent with the veggies. It takes a while for htem to like them. I always offer a veggie with the meal. Even though I end up throwing a lot away, we've found some that he will eat after being offered a few times.

[Anonymous]

Try one-dish casseroles that incorporate veggies. I searched the web one day for such toddler recipes and found a few great ones. My DD, who won't eat broccoli by itself, loves, loves, loves a broccoli, brown rice and cheese casserole I make. I put the broccoli in the blender and she doesn't even realize it's there.

[Anonymous]

Meconbear wrote:Some fruits have the same nutrients as veggies. My DS hates carrots, but will eat papaya, which has tons of betacarotene, and sweet potatoes. Maybe a variety of fruits? Kiwi, papaya, mangoes, etc.

This is exactly what our pedi said when I was stressing about our small twins. High value fruits OR vegetables are apparently fine as they're developing eating habits. What a relief!

My uncle (pedi expert on nutrition, public health - lucky us!) recommends good ol' fashioned, "feed them off your own plate" as an easy, effective way for ensuring well-balanced nutrition and avoiding food battles. If kids think they're getting something different from parents, they'll suspect something's up.

As PPs said - pedis job is to keep your kids healthy, so never be afraid to ask.

Good for OP for asking! It never hurts to think about what's best for your child. Glad to hear DC is healthy. Well done!

[Anonymous]

It is also pretty easy to throw some Gerber's veggies into a meatloaf. They even have a recipe on the back of on of their cereal boxes... I can't remember if it is rice or oatmeal. My little guy seems to like that more, because it makes the meatloaf a little mushy. (Sounds gross, but it really isn't bad!)

[Anonymous]

Ditto the stealth approach recommended by PPs. Quesadillas and whole wheat pancakes are very good Trojan horses for finely chopped or pureed veggies!

My 14-mo-old also loves, loves these spinach nuggets made by Veggie Patch. My tween niece and nephews were visiting this week -- and their mom told me they wouldn't eat vegetables, but darned if they weren't stealing bites of Veggie Patch spinach nuggets off DS's plate by the end of the trip! They're genius... just genius... They're in the refrigerated section at the grocery (like Safeway) or Whole Foods.